Secrets
by Izabelle Alizabe
Summary: Naruto is more powerful than anyone knows, and now he is even more unique and he doesn't know it. Just what has Kyuubi gone and done this time? ItaNaru
1. Chapter 1

A/N: hey this is one of the first stories i ever wrote and i just thought i would post it. Hope you like it! Enjoy! XD

izabelle

**Secrets**

Naruto stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel to wrap around his waist. Without bothering to dry off, he walked into the hotel room he had stayed in for the past few days and sat in the straight back chair in front of the desk. Tonight, the mission given to him the third hokage the day the Uchiha clan was massacred would come to an end and he could return to being a normal ninja. When he returned to the village from his small vacation, he would disappear from the notice of the normal people again, and hopefully Sasuke would never notice that Naruto was different.

He was given the mission to watch over the last Uchiha the day after the Uchiha massacre, the same day he achieved ANBU captain. The hokage made him enter the academy and join Sasuke's team so that he could be there to protect the Uchiha heir if Itachi showed up to finish the job he had started, and to also push the Uchiha to become more powerful by being Sasuke's "rival".

But now that the chuunin exams were coming up, Sandaime had released him from his mission, on the belief that Sasuke was capable of protecting himself now.

His 'vacation', as he called it, was actually a small mission he had taken to get out of the village. All he had to do was escort one of the councilmen to the next hidden village over, which was Rock. He had gotten the councilman there two days early by carrying him on his back, so that he could have this vacation.

Tomorrow, though, it ended and he had to make his way back to the village, and back to being a genin. Naruto sighed as he stood up and let his towel fall to the carpeted floor. He walked over to one of the twin sized beds in the room that his clothes were laying on.

He swiftly slid into the skin tight uniform of Konoha ANBU. The black of the fabric complimented his skin tone and made his hair and eyes stand out, and he was more comfortable in the tight, easily concealable clothes than in that gaudy, orange jumper. Running a hand through his hair, Naruto slid his forehead protector over his head. When he had first received it, he had taken it to a tailors to have it made to where it covered his highly noticeable golden hair.

Looking around the empty room one last time to make sure he hadn't left anything, he slid his raccoon ANBU mask over his face and threw his two katana blades over his shoulders so that they crossed in the middle of his back.

Making his way to the door, Naruto placed all his other weapons in various places around his body. When he made it to the door, he slung it open and strode out, not even caring about the bowing hotel owner he passed as he left the cheap inn.

Walking through the quiet village, he couldn't help but feel slightly on edge. Living in Konoha all his life had made him used to the busyness of the streets, even at night, and to be in a village at night with no one around made him wary of every dark shadow and everything that moved.

Pushing his irrational paranoia to the back of his mind, Naruto jumped up on the nearest roof and started running towards the exit of the city. Coming to the gate, he didn't stop, even when the sentries on the wall called him back for identification.

Naruto dropped down to the ground to get out of their views. Looking around, he started walking in a random direction, away from the Rock village. Nothing exciting happened on his walk, except him being chased by an angry momma squirrel after he had accidentally tripped and landed in her den.

After he was about an hour away from the small, quiet village, Naruto took to the trees, easily picking up pace because of the tall, tightly packed trees full of limbs. It would take about two hours to reach Konoha at his current speed, and then he had another hour and a half to get to the bridge that his genin team always met on. That meant no sleep. Oh well, it was the last day. After taking the first two exams of the chuunin exam, he would be out of the genin life of D-rank missions and simple training. He could go back to what he truly loved, being an ANBU captain, well-known for never not completing a mission.

Naruto swerved and cursed as he almost ran into a tree. 'Shouldn't let my mind wander.'

'You're right. You shouldn't. You could get us both killed.' Naruto smirked to himself as the deep, seductive voice of the nine-tails filled his mind. Deciding to take a break to talk with the fox, Naruto jumped down to the needle strewn forest floor. Finding a dry, comfortable spot, he lay down, resting his head on his arms.

'How've you been, Kyuu?' Naruto hadn't talked to the fox for the entirety of his mission and vacation. The nine-tailed demon must have been rather bored.

'Bored. I can't believe you ignored me for five whole days!'

Naruto chuckled at the fox, and turned his mind inward, so that he could see the demon as they conversed. Walking through the sewer like halls, he pushed open a small, concealed door and walked into the medium-sized bedroom behind it.

Kyuubi and Naruto had made this hidden room after Naruto had discovered the demon when he first became a ninja. They used it to meet when it was just the two of them. Kyuubi would come in his human form so that he could fit into the room. They only ever used the caged room when someone else was going to enter his mind, to make the intruder think he either didn't know of the demon or at least didn't trust it.

The room they were in now, though, was just their place. The floor was shaped like a bowl, and pillows of every color were strewn everywhere. The four walls had four different murals, each wall representing a season. There were pieces of fabric hanging from the ceiling, making the room seem smaller and more comfortable to be in, less like being in a cavern.

Closing the small door behind him, Naruto made his way towards the figure laying among the pillows. As he got closer to the lounging demon, he picked out certain details of the human form Kyuubi preferred. The long, red hair, pulled back into a low ponytail; the elf like features, all angles and shadows, that made Kyuubi look like a mischievous fox personified; and the long, tan legs, barely concealed by the small blanket thrown haphazardly over the demon.

Then there were the features that betrayed the demon's human disguise. The soft, pointed ears of a fox, poking out from behind Kyuubi's hair, and the long, luxurious tail that was currently curled around the demon's stomach.

As Naruto plopped down between two large purple pillows, Kyuubi sat up, the blanket falling to pool at his waist, revealing a toned chest and stomach, unmarred with any scars or other marks. Cocking his head to the side, Kyuubi studied Naruto, making the blonde shift nervously. Tired of the scrutiny, he sighed and broke the silence.

"What is it, Kyuu? Checking for injuries, or did you do something that you're worried I might find out about?" Kyuubi had the grace to look guilty, but the look quickly changed to mischievous again.

"What do you mean, Naru-chan? I was just seeing if you had done anything drastic during your vacation. You know, like a tattoo, or a piercing." Kyuubi slightly shrunk back from the look he was receiving from his host, then cleared his throat. "Did you have a good time?"

Naruto sighed at the obvious subject change, but gave up on getting any thing out of the fox. Whatever it was the demon had done, it couldn't be too drastic because he hadn't noticed any thing different or strange about his body or how it functioned.

Sighing again, Naruto answered Kyuubi's question. "It was okay. That village was too quiet, though. I thought quiet was what I needed, but apparently not. I was so tense during these past two days, it was basically a pointless vacation." Naruto stopped talking for a minute, thinking about what he was going back to. Closing his eyes, and laying back on a third, this time yellow, pillow, he continued.

"It was nice to get away from the team, though. One more minute of Sakura's flirting and Sasuke's monosyllable answers that are always accompanied by those patented Uchiha death glares, and I was going to explode!"

Kyuubi chuckled at his kit's exaggeration. Sure, Naruto wore a mask of happiness and idiocy while around people who didn't know his secret, to hide the serious, genius, calculating mind of an ANBU captain, but he was still a child. Not everything he did around ignorant people was a mask. Laying back down and pulling the blanket back over his naked body, the fox watched the blonde for any changes. Sighing, he turned on his side, facing Naruto, and rested his head on his hand.

"What did you do during this 'vacation' if you didn't get a tattoo or piercing, and you didn't relax?"

Startled bye the talking, after it had been quiet for a while, it took Naruto a minute to process, and then answer the question.

"Nothing much. Mostly I rested in my room, and once I went shopping. I got my katanas sharpened, as well." He stopped talking when he saw Kyuubi roll his eyes. "What?"

"That wasn't a vacation, Naruto! All you did was stuff you do everyday, except you didn't have to worry about Sasuke, Sakura, or Kakashi barging in."

"Exactly! I could relax, as much as that quiet village would let me! Anyway, I've rested long enough. I need to get back to Konoha sometime today." Naruto stood up and stared making his way back to the door, struggling to walk up the smoothly inclining floor.

"Fine. Now leave me alone so I can get some rest," Kyuubi muttered, hoping the blonde wouldn't hear him. But Naruto, being himself, did, and turned around with a questioning glare on his face.

"Why do you need to rest? You've had five days to just lounge around." He started walking back towards the fox demon, slightly sliding down the smooth floor, making Kyuubi try to stutter out an answer.

"I-I was b-busy? Yeah, busy. Tidying up in here, and things like that. In fact, I need to get back to that. So, bye!" With that, the demon disappeared, probably reappearing in the cage, where he would cower for a while, leaving behind a curious and slightly worried ninja.

Sighing, he turned and opened the door, automatically returning to his real body. As he opened his eyes and stretched, he couldn't help but think, 'What could make the great Kyuubi Kitsune so worried about telling me?'


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: hello again, sorry it took so long to update i left my notebook at school when i went home for the weekend and therefore couldn't type up the next chapter. sorry for the crappy length of this one, the next one is longer, though not as long as i would like it to be and the fourth ch should be the longest so far. thank you to all the people who reviewed or favorited or added me to story alert, it makes me feel so special ^-^, so anyway heres the next chapter, enjoy!

Disclaimer: i don't own the naruto verse sadly. oh well

Secrets

Slipping through an open window that led to his bedroom, Naruto quickly started stripping. His little break had taken longer than he thought and now he only had about fifteen minutes until he had to meet with his team.

Turning the water on in the shower to let it warm up, he turned to the mirror and let his eyes scan over some of the newer scars on his chest. He didn't have many scars, due to Kyuubi's healing, but recently more of his wounds were scarring. His hand reached up to trace over the ones over his heart that he…

Naruto forced his hand back to his side, then turned and stepped into the shower; the mirror had fogged too much for him to see anyway. After a quick, five-minute shower he got out and toweled off quickly as he walked back to his room. He laid his towel on the bed and put all his underclothes on. He reached for the horrid orange jumpsuit, only to realize that he didn't have any clean ones.

All of his movements and thoughts froze for a minute, wondering how it was possible for him not to have any clean jumpsuits. Then he flew into motion, cursing under his breath. He almost jumped to the closet and flung open the doors. He rarely used his closet, usually just leaving his clothes where he dropped them or where he could easily get to them. In fact, he wasn't even sure what was in his closet.

Most of what he saw were old ANBU outfits that he didn't need anymore. Those wouldn't help. Pushing them all to the other side, he looked at what was in the back of the closet. He saw some jeans and t-shirts, not what one would call ninja material.

After another minute of staring, Naruto sighed. "Screw it," he muttered, pulling out a pair of long jeans and a short sleeve black shirt. Slipping into the jeans, he rolled his eyes at how loosed they were. Complaining under his breath, he pulled the shirt over his head and groaned. The shirt was tight, tight enough to show how toned his upper body was. This was why he wore the loose fitting jacket. No one knew what he looked like under it so they didn't ask questions about why he was toned.

Glancing at the clock, he cursed again. 'Not enough time!' Rushing around the small apartment, gathering all his genin supplies, Naruto temporarily forgot about his clothing predicament. He slipped his forehead protector on, and as he slammed the door behind him, with his boots in one hand, he didn't notice as the protector fell down to rest around his neck, leaving his hair free to hang around his face.

Naruto ran through the village faster than any genin was able, but due to his speed, no one could see him anyway. Finally he made it to the bridge, only seconds before Kakashi. Sasuke and Sakura were giving him strange looks because he was usually the first one to the bridge. Then all three of the other ninjas looked down at what he was wearing.

Sakura's mouth dropped open, drool threatening to fall out of her mouth, and her eyes had gone impossibly wide.

Sasuke's eyebrows rose and his eyes were slightly wider than usual.

Kakashi only blinked before turning back to face the other two, as Naruto moved to sit on the rail of the bridge, behind Sasuke and Sakura.

Kakashi smiled, his one visible eye turning up into an upside down U, and held out three slips of paper. Naruto and Sasuke reached out and took theirs, but Sakura seemed to be too shocked to do anything but gape and drool. Naruto rolled is yes and grabbed the last piece of paper, putting it in her open mouth with a small chuckle.

She inhaled, and then choked on the paper. After a coughing fit, during which the paper fell out, she picked the paper up off the ground and glared at Naruto. He shrugged and turned back to Kakashi, who was reading his suspicious orange book again. Naruto sighed after a few minutes of waiting, and decided to break the jounin out of his perverted thoughts.

"Uh, Kakashi-sensei? Don't you think you should tell us what these forms are for?" Kakashi glanced at him, then quickly shut his book, putting it in the kunai pouch on his left side.

"Of course. I've recommended you three for the chuunin exams. They're tomorrow at the academy, third floor. At noon. Good luck." With that said, the perverted jounin pulled out his book, waved at the three genin, and disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Sasuke just pocketed the form, and turned around, walking towards the empty Uchiha compound. Sakura immediately went after him, probably to ask hm for a date, completely ignoring the blond, much to his joy. He wouldn't have to act like he was shocked and excited.

He jumped off the rail, deciding to just walk home. He started walking slowly in the direction of his apartment, keeping his head down to avoid all the glares and gestured directed at him. He was about halfway home when he heard a hawk's call. Looking up he saw the hawk. Slowly closing his eyes, he cursed under his breath and took off to his apartment to quickly change and then make his way to the Hokage's office.

As he slid his mask over his face and leapt out the open window in his room he thought, 'No rest for an ANBU.'

Sandaime, the third Hokage, sat behind his desk, his chin resting on his steepled fingers, staring at the report in from of him. He didn't even flinch when two figures appeared in his office simultaneously, one in the corner, hidden by shadow, the other in a chair in front of his desk.

Sarutobi raised his head slightly and nodded to the ANBU in the corner before addressing the man in front of him.

"Kakashi-san, I have received the reports from the border and the list of teams entering the chuunin exams." Kakashi leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees, trying to figure out how those two reports were connected.

When he couldn't think of anything, he leaned back in his chair. "Why do I need to know of those two reports? And why do we need an ANBU?" He glanced at the hidden figure, trying to figure out which animal was represented on the mask. He was pulled back to the conversation at hand when the Hokage started talking.

"Two Akatsuki members, thought to be Uchiha Itachi and his partner, Kisame, have crossed our borders. Also, one genin team is from the Sound Village, rumored to be led by Orochimaru, and another team, we don't know which one, has a spy."

Kakashi's eye widened and he leaned forward in shock, only to be surprised again when the ANBU chuckled, then spoke.

"That's rich. Just perfect. My last freakin' day and this happens. Someone up there must hate me." The ANBU, which was in fact Naruto, pushed off the wall and slowly made his way to the chair beside Kakashi.

Kakashi could now see that the mask was a raccoon, the white of the mask only broken by a black band across the eyes and three whisker marks on each side of the mask. He didn't know the ANBU personally, but he had heard the stories.

Naruto sat down in the chair, and, with a nod from Sarutobi, grabbed the two reports and started reading them. Kakashi was stunned; only the most trusted of the trusted could read official reports. While Kakashi was staring, Naruto had finished scanning through the reports and set them back on Sandaime's desk.

He stood up and slightly bowed towards the Hokage, then went back to his corner, seemingly unphased by the information they had just been told. Kakashi was again brought out of his musing by the sound of the Hokage's voice.

"Kakashi, I need you to keep an eye on Sasuke. Don't let Itachi or Orochimaru get too close. Especially Orochimaru. He's looking for the sharing an. Also, make sure Itachi doesn't get Naruto. Akatsuki is starting to move, looking for bijuu." He stopped talking and, with a sigh, turned to Naruto.

"Raccoon-san, I'm sorry, but your mission is going to have to last longer than we had thought. Is that okay with you?"

With a dejected sigh, but resigned, sigh, the ANBU nodded. "I suppose. I guess I'll be on my way. I need to get ready." With a nod, the ANBU disappeared, not even a puff of smoke to betray his departure. Kakashi stared at the now empty corner, wondering just who that ANBU was. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he turned to the Hokage, bowed slightly, and poofed out of the office.

As his office emptied, the Hokage sighed and rested his head on his steepled fingers once more. When there was a knock on his door, he lifted his head and gave them permission to enter. He sighed again when he realized it was the council, carrying large piles of papers that needed the Hokage's signature. Shaking his head, he motioned them to sit down and took the first form and his pen and set to it.


End file.
